Twisted Thicket
What is this thing inside me?
Something I do not know.
It lurks behind my every move,
a shadow in the undergrowth …
Welcome to my Twisted Thicket,
a mindscape in the dark,
where kudzu wraps around the trees
and one match lit a spark.
Here we traverse carefully,
but still with curious eyes.
Do we truly wish to see things
in the shadows of our minds?
The Lagoon of Solitude calls forth,
Beckoning us near,
You must reflect upon yourself
to make your journey here.
We tread across the marsh
to a crossroads in our path:
CHOOSE TO FACE THE THICKET NOW
OR YOU BETTER TURN BACK.
Stomachs dropping, hearts racing,
We choose to carry on.
We’ve come too far to give up now
this journey we’ve embarked upon.
Suddenly the air is cold,
A sharp pain in the heart.
Our match blows out in seething winds,
And we are in the dark.
What we thought we knew about this land
All at once falls apart.
“I think I know the way,” I say,
But quickly know my fault:
You never know the way
Until you reach the center of it all.
We take our steps in oblivion,
not knowing where to turn.
Each choice feels right until it’s not
and to go back I yearn.
Critters crawl all over us,
and creatures stalk behind
the shadows in the undergrowth,
waiting for their time to shine.
The thicket grows more twisted
with every step, it seems.
“I cannot figure out this path
without some help!” I scream.
Someone hears my prayers,
a light beam in the sky.
You are on the right path, love,
see and trust the signs.
I accept the darkness, then,
determined to go on.
The thicket opens up a bit,
a clearing like the dawn.
We run towards Truth,
But quickly find that no such thing exists.
Everything we think we know
is Shadow or a myth.
Shadow hears his name and speaks,
alarmingly clear now,
Are you ready to face me
after a lifetime disavowed?
“I didn’t think I had to,”
I admit bashfully.
“But now I see I need you.”
His face lights up with glee.
Follow me, explorers,
and you will understand,
that shadows in the darkness
make the enlightened man.
I take his hand and suddenly
our match thus reignites.
Although we can see clearer now,
my body fills with fright.
Terror overwhelms me
at the Shadow I have cast.
How many people never face
the demons of their past?
The match that Shadow gave us
illuminates our path,
but the fire grows so greatly
we are caught up in its wrath.
The Twisted Thicket set ablaze,
we run haphazardly,
Through burning forest all aflame
I fear lost identity.
“Surely everything’s destroyed!”
I wail in great lament.
“I’ll never be the same again,
I’ve got nothing left.”
Our journey seems so hopeless, now,
a mindscape come undone.
How long we spent exploring
a land reduced to none.
Through smoke and ash clouds forming,
I look up towards the sky.
“What good could possibly come
from obliteration of my mind?”
Be not afraid, child,
of this dark and frightful night.
For Spirit lingers all around,
not only in the light.
We tread around the thicket now,
so lost but unafraid.
How could we feel so comforted
on such a dreadful day?
Stumbling upon something,
glowing oh so clear,
Is this what you’ve been looking for?
Is this what you so feared?
We can’t believe the timing,
the magic of this place.
What we thought was our demise
was really our saving grace.
You see it now, don’t you?
Shadow tells me with a grin.
The truth of who we really are
lies in our destruction.
“Who have I been this whole time,
Just Shadow and a myth?”
I see now so clearly
In my Twisted Thicket.
We never will know everything,
Nor even can we try.
But in knowing we know nothing
we are no longer blind.
Twisted Thicket,
so dark and strange.
Twisted Thicket,
grief and rage.
Twisted Thicket,
opened up.
Twisted Thicket,
I am undone.
Strike Out,
Writer: Cristina Angee
Editor: Jayna O
Tallahassee